Parent

Verb + parent

• parents worry

• parents separate / split up

• parents get divorced

• please your parents

• meet (her) parents

• parents bring you up

Verb + prep + parent

• live with (your) parents

• fall out with (your) parents

• look after (your) parents

• communicate with your parents

Adjective + parent

• an elderly parent

• a single parent

• strict parents

• foster parents

• working parents

Exercise

Verb + parent

1. My parents separated when I was two, then got divorced when I was four. I was brought up by my mother. I only saw my dad at the weekends.

2. I met my boyfriend's parents for the first time last week. They seem very nice.

3. It's nearly midnight. I'd better phone home, or my parents will start to worry.

4. I hate this dress, but I only wear it to please my parents.

5. My parents brought me up to believe that the only way to be successful in life is to work hard.

Verb + with + parent

1. I can’t communicate with my parents. They just don't understand me! - c

2. My parents brought me up, but now I have to look after them! - a

3. I've fallen out with my girlfriend again. We haven't spoken to each other for a week. - d

4. My wife and I lived with my parents until we could afford a flat of our own. - b

Adjective + parent

1. Both my parents were very strict. I wasn't allowed out after 7 o'clock until I was 16!

2. I have to take care of my elderly parents. They're both in their eighties, and they need daily help with their housework and shopping.

3. Being a single parent isn't easy. Bringing up a family on your own is hard work.

4. The meeting will be held in the school hall tomorrow evening to allow working parents to attend.

5. My real parents died in a car crash when I was a baby. I was brought up by foster parents.

Note

1. Note these expressions:

• I'm completely dependent on my parents for money.

• I have a good relationship with my parents.

• It is the parents responsibility to make sure that their children attend school.